Can I do deep litter method with this coop?

[Buckaroohens]

Hi there!

Below are a few pictures of the coop I'm planning on getting. Can I do deep litter method with this coop or would something else work better? Trying to plan ahead. Thanks for your input!

 

[donrae]

I think you could. My first thought is you're going to need a baffle or whatever you call it in front of the human and pop door to contain the litter or it will simply all fall out.

Poop boards will help a lot to manage manure.

 

[TalkALittle]

If it is a wooden floor then you'll want to lay down linoleum or seal it with roofing sealer or similar to protect the wood from rot.

Are you planning on doing deep litter where you actively promote the material composting in the coop? Or deep bedding where you maintain a thick layer of bedding keeping things very dry? There is a big difference in how the two function that deserves distinction.

I do deep litter in my run and love it. It solved my drainage issues and has made my birds happier and healthier. All sorts of materials and some moisture go in there and it is very much an active compost pile.

I'm my coop I use deep bedding. I don't add moisture to that litter and use a very dry, high carbon content material. Consequently, little to no composting takes place. Additionally, I utilize a droppings board so that the majority of the poop gets easily removed bi-weekly. Twice a year my coop is cleaned and all the bedding is removed to the run where it then composts. Deep bedding (lower moisture) won't damage an untreated wood floor the way deep litter will.

 

[Buckaroohens]

Based on those descriptions, I would be doing deep bedding. How does the whole poop board thing work? How big does it need to be and is it made out of any type of wood? Does the wood of the board need to be painted or treated in any way?

 

[aart]

Two things they definitely got wrong on that coop, both door bottoms need to be about 8" above floor.
People door could have a piece of removable wood installed...not sure what you'd do about pop door without making it too short for chook egress.

Poop/Roost boards rock! Here's how I do mine:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...raphic-gross-poop-pictures/1100#post_13179595

ETA: Love TalkALittle's description of DL vs DB, excellent, hope it becomes a norm to see the differentiation.
I use DB and only change out bedding once a year.

 

[TalkALittle]

Based on those descriptions, I would be doing deep bedding. How does the whole poop board thing work? How big does it need to be and is it made out of any type of wood? Does the wood of the board need to be painted or treated in any way?

If you search the forums for "poop board" or "droppings board" you'll find whole threads devoted to the subject.

Basically it breaks down to this:

Some people use a bare board or one that is very lightly coated with sand or PDZ or bedding material to catch droppings that they then scrape off periodically and dispose of as they see fit. Others construct a tray that they make deep enough to hold a larger amount of sand/pdz that they sift periodically much like a cat litter box. Still others construct a shelf below the roost that holds a shallow tray that they can sift or scrape or remove and wash.

How big? Depends on your birds. In general you want it to run the full length of your roost. You want to make sure it extends out in front of and behind the roost far enough so that a falling poop will land on it. Then you want to add a few inches just in case to cover the occassional splatter. My boards are about 12" below my roost and are 24" from front to back. They are big trays made of a 2x4 frame with a plywood bottom. They can hold about 3" of sand/pdz though I typically use less. Painting them makes it easier to scrape/clean off the occassional but inevitable stray poop.

 

[Coop de Grass]

Wow! I have a linoleum floor in my coop and have been trying the deep litter method - even added garden dirt, but it is not composting - started in September. It hasn't smelled at all, but now it is getting warm and the flies have arrived!

I think I will switch to the deep bedding method and try the poop board underneath the roosts - I had tried those in the fall, but it was cumbersome to clean off the boards.

I figure that I'll have it all worked out in about 20 years!

 

[paintedChix]

Not sure why this popped up on the 1st page of the forum when it's been 2.5 yrs since someone last posted on it...

BUUUUTTTT - OP what did you go with? How is it going? I like hearing how folks do with the pretty and cute little chicken houses. I've had nothing but bad luck with those (and they are expensive! pre-builts). But they are sooo cute and would so match our home, LOL.

 

[aart]

@Buckaroohens hasn't been around since march 2016.
Old threads have been pooping up with a reply to prompts it...weird.

 

[Kiki]

Two things they definitely got wrong on that coop, both door bottoms need to be about 8" above floor.
People door could have a piece of removable wood installed...not sure what you'd do about pop door without making it too short for chook egress.

Poop/Roost boards rock! Here's how I do mine:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...raphic-gross-poop-pictures/1100#post_13179595

ETA: Love TalkALittle's description of DL vs DB, excellent, hope it becomes a norm to see the differentiation.
I use DB and only change out bedding once a year.

For some reason it is putting a 't' in the link where it should be putting the whole word 'threads', it's some kind of redirect error. I do not know how to fix it.